Panthers’ record falls to 5-8
It wasn't a usual time for a game, and the NRHEG Panthers did not play like their usual selves.
Tipping off at 11 in the morning Saturday, Jan. 5 at Bethany Lutheran College, the Panthers were sluggish and dropped a 74-70 boys' basketball decision to Cedar Mountain/Comfrey.
"You could tell a little at the start that it wasn't a normal time for the guys to be playing," said coach Isaiah Lundberg. "We were a step slow on offense and defense for a while and took a little while to get into a good flow."
Still, the Panthers assumed a 16-9 lead, but CMC rallied to take a 42-40 edge at halftime.
"I thought our offense in the first half was good," said Lundberg. "We stayed away from the first-half moments where we get into a turnover mode, which was good, but our defense wasn't very good."
The second half went the way the first half ended, with a lot of scoring on both sides. The Panthers held a 54-52 advantage at about the midway mark, cut CMC again retook the lead. The Panthers trailed by as much as five at one point, got it back to one, but never could take the lead. CMC hit key free throws down the stretch.
Lundberg was not pleased with the Panthers allowing 74 points after giving up an average of 52.
"We struggled to rebound at times and we didn't guard on the ball as well as we could have," said Lundberg. "They are a good offensive team. I give them a lot of credit."
Jacob Schuller led four Panther scorers in double figures with 21 points. Blake Ihrke had 15, Brady Agrimson 11, Lonnie Wilson 10, Ashton Johnson 9, Kordell Schlaak 4.
CMC was led by Lewis Pendleton with 26 points.
The Panthers ran their record to 5-8 overall.
NRHEG 69, TCU 36
After a back-and-forth first half that saw NRHEG up 39-23 at halftime, the Panthers blew it open at Montgomery Thursday, Jan. 3.
TCU led 20-18 when the Panthers called time out, and it resulted in a 21-3 run for NRHEG, which scored with ease against either a zone or man-to-man defense.
Agrimson poured in a career-best 34 points, with Schuller netting 14.
"I thought our defense was good for the whole game," said Lundberg. "We did some really good things tonight and have improved since the season began."
NRHEG 51, Maple River 46
The Panthers pulled off an exciting rally to take third in the Bethany Lutheran College Holiday Tournament Saturday, Dec. 29 in Mankato.
After an early 12-8 lead, the Panthers went into a bit of a funk and Maple River closed with a 16-2 run, taking a 24-14 lead at halftime.
It didn't seem to faze the Panthers, who played perhaps their best half of basketball all season while rallying past one of their biggest rivals.
"Our defense kept us in it and forced them into tough shots and turnovers, and we took advantage of that where we didn't in the first half," said Lundberg. "Our ball movement and patience that we showed in the second half really helped as we got good shots and made them."
The Panthers finally took the lead with about five minutes left and held on as Wilson grabbed some key offensive rebounds and Peyton Castle made some free throws.
Lundberg praised the play of Schuller, who finished with 17 points and was the lone NRHEG scorer in double figures. Agrimson and Castle added 8 each, Ihrke 7.
Mason Sohre scored 20 for Maple River.
MVL 63, NRHEG 38
The Panthers fell behind 11-0 early and it didn't get any better against Minnesota Valley Lutheran in the second round of the Bethany tournament Friday, Dec. 28.
NRHEG trailed 39-11 at halftime to a team Lundberg knew was good.
The Panthers had chances in the early going but missed a layup and some free throws while struggling against MVL's full-four pressure.
"I give MVL a ton of credit," said Lundberg. "They are a tremendous team and took us out of anything we wanted to do. MVL has a lot of talent."
Foul trouble also caught up with the Panthers as Agrimson and Schuller both had three in the first half. Schuller finished with 14 points, Agrimson 13. Mason Cox led MVL with 19 points.